Chapter 17 #2
“She knew we were going out tonight and doesn’t have a problem with it.
Seems that she wants to one-up Hettie, but to be honest, I figure that is the only reason she isn’t flaming mad.
” Brodie started the engine but didn’t know where to go after that.
“What now? Looks like family will be at the bar tonight. We can still go if you want to, but it won’t be the date I’d hoped for. ”
“I want to go to the park, have a picnic while we watch the sunset, and then dance barefoot in the grass until we absolutely have to leave,” she said.
“That sounds amazing,” he said, “but I will need to make one quick stop by the Dollar General Store.”
“What for?” she asked. “The burgers are probably already getting cold.”
“A blanket and one of those candles in a jar,” he answered. “How far is the park?”
“Probably five minutes,” she answered.
He pulled into the parking lot, stopped the truck, and leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. “You are not only gorgeous but also amazing.”
She touched his cheek with her open hand. “I don’t know about all that, but I am adaptable when I want to be, and tonight, I really want to spend time with you. It doesn’t matter if we’re on the dance floor at the bar or in the park.”
Brodie gently moved her hand and kissed the knuckles. “Then thank you for being adaptable. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
Luck might not have been with him before, but it made up for lost time in the store.
He found a throw with a beach scene printed on it and a candle with a label that guaranteed it to smell like fresh ocean air.
He paid for them and rushed back out to the truck, tossed them in the back seat, and started the engine.
“Navigate for me. Which way are we going?” he said.
“Go that way,” she pointed, “to Seventh Street, and then turn west onto Mesquite Street, and it’s only a little ways to the park.”
He followed her directions and, like she said, in less than five minutes he had parked the truck at the edge of a nice, big park complete with a picnic table under a pavilion.
The sun had just begun to dip down to the tops of the trees in the distance and was painting the sky with brilliant pinks, purples, oranges, and yellows.
“It’s gorgeous, isn’t it?” she said.
“Yes, but when it comes to beauty, it can’t compare to you,” he answered.
“That’s a good pickup line,” she giggled. “Did you just make it up on the spot, or have you used it in the past?”
Brodie got out of the truck and opened the door for her. “I don’t have pickup lines, and I call it like I see it. Right now, I’m lookin’ at the prettiest woman in Texas, who is hungry, so let’s lay this blanket out and pretend that we’re at the beach.”
She picked up the drinks, slid out of the seat, and said, “Maybe someday we can go to the beach. I’ve never seen the ocean or even been to the Gulf.”
He grabbed the sack with their food inside and the one from the Dollar General. “I would love that.”
Maybe on our honeymoon, he thought and then shook his head at such a silly notion on a first date.
***
Audrey set the drinks on the ground and helped spread the blanket out. She was impressed by the beach scene but even more so by the fact that Brodie had a lighter in his pocket for the candle.
She sat down on one end of the quilt. “Looks like we are ready for a romantic dinner on the beach.”
He sat down beside her and handed her the first burger and container of fries. “I couldn’t pull out a chair for you, but I can serve your supper.”
“Do you wish we would have stayed at Dairy Queen?” she asked.
“Do you wish we were going to the bar for beers and dancing?” He fired back at her.
“I was happy meeting you in the orchard,” she replied. “We should do that more often.”
“I agree, or I’ve heard there’s a lake near here. We could go swimming when the weather gets warmer,” he said.
She bit into her cheeseburger and eased a french fry out of the container and threw it over Brodie’s shoulder. “Squirrel was begging. Guess there haven’t been many folks out here to feed them today, and yes, I love to swim. Haven’t been in a couple of years.”
“Me, either,” Brodie said.
“I lied,” she said. “I really want to go have some beers and dance, but if we do that, one of us will have to stay sober to drive home.”
“Let’s watch the sunset and feed the squirrels,” Brodie said, “and then we’ll go to the bar. Bernie might close the place down, but my brothers will leave fairly early. They want to get a full day in at the barn tomorrow.”
Audrey ate a fry and then tossed another one to the squirrel. “That sounds great, and I won’t lie to you again. If we’re going to date, we need to be honest with each other.”
“Then you didn’t like meeting me in the orchard?” he teased.
“Yes, I did, and that’s great, but let’s go out sometimes.”
“Then you are going to go out with me again?” he asked.
Audrey loved the way that the candlelight and the setting sun put a gleam in his eyes. She had read her students as well as the men she had dated long enough to know that Brodie was honest, spoke his mind, and was funny all in one package.
What made you change your mind about him? You hated him in the beginning, the pesky voice in her head asked.
A woman can change her mind, especially when her hormones are involved, she answered.
“Well?” Brodie asked.
“I’m sorry,” Audrey said. “I was fighting with the voice in my head. Yes, we will go out again if you ask me, and if you don’t I’ll ask you because I’m impatient that way.”
He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. “Will you go out with me next Friday night? Maybe we’ll go to Wichita Falls or Gainesville and hope that Fate doesn’t put our families in our path.”
“Yes,” she answered. “Pick me up at six?”
“I’ll be there.” He carefully threw one of his fries out to the squirrel, who quickly buried it in the ground.
“I guess we’ll come back here next year to find a french fry tree growing right there.
Maybe it will give us some shade. But we were talking about the voice in your head. Who won the battle?”
She took a long drink of her tea and remembered that she had promised not to lie to him again. “It was a close tie but not an easy race.”
“I understand,” Brodie said. “The sun has set. The food is gone. The squirrel has gone to bed for the night. Shall we head to the bar?”
“Yes, and I get the first and last dances,” she said as she crammed all the trash down into the paper bag; she stood up and tossed it all in the trash.
“You can have all the dances,” he told her.
“What if there’s a beautiful woman there who tries to cut in?”
“That’s when you remember what happened with Linda,” he chuckled.
“I can do that, but what if there’s a sexy cowboy there who wants to dance with me?” she asked.
“Then me and Mr. Sexy Cowboy will go outside and have a duel.” Brodie blew out the candle, picked it up, and tossed the blanket over his shoulder. He laced his fingers with Audrey’s, and together they walked across the park to his truck.
Forget about vibes or even sparks—the warmth of his hand set off a fireworks show in her body. A vision of throwing that blanket down on a bed of straw up under an apple tree flashed through her mind. She imagined his hand sliding up under her short skirt and his kisses on her lips.
“Am I walking too fast?” he asked.
You can’t lie. This time it was Walter’s voice in her head.
“No,” Audrey answered. “I was just enjoying the visions in my head.”
“Want to share?” Brodie helped her get into the truck.
“Not tonight, but maybe someday they’ll come true.”
“Then I won’t tell you about the video that was playing in my head,” he said.
“Maybe someday?” Audrey asked.
“Here’s hoping both will be a reality,” Brodie answered.
“The look in your eyes says that if it does, it will be pretty good,” she said.
“Not pretty good. It will be amazing!” he promised.
***
Brodie scanned the Busted Spur—the new name for Bo and Maverick’s place—when he and Audrey walked inside, but he didn’t see Knox or Tripp anywhere. Bernie and Gladys were sitting on barstools and talking to Maverick. Bo was taking a pitcher of beer to a table with two couples seated around it.
“We’re going to need music if we’re going to dance,” Audrey said.
“You better come up on the stage with me and help pick out what you want to hear.” He took her hand and led her up to the jukebox.
He plugged several dollar bills into the jukebox, and they took turns picking songs. Brodie wondered if the ones she picked were supposed to have meaning. He was sure that his choices—mostly older songs—had lots of underlying significance.
“Okay, let’s see who gets tired first,” Audrey said when they had finished.
Brodie led her to the far end of the bar from where Bernie and Gladys were sitting. “But first a cold beer to get us started. I figure lots of dancing will wipe out just one beer, so I can still drive home.”
“Hey, you two!” Bernie called out when she caught sight of them.
Brodie waved at them and waited until Audrey was seated before he sat down.
Maverick smiled and brought over two longneck bottles of icy-cold beer.
“First drink is on the house. I saw y’all plugging money into the jukebox.
Thank you for that. It’s been pretty quiet here for a Friday night…
” He paused when a dozen young people pushed their way into the place. “Guess I spoke too soon.”
Every barstool and all of the tables were soon filled, and the dance floor began to get crowded—and on Brodie’s dollar.
“Ready to dance?” he asked when the first guitar licks of “Your Man” started.
“I thought you’d never ask,” Audrey said, “and this is a good song to start off the night since you chose it. I know that you can two-step in an orchard when it’s just the two of us. Let’s see if you are as good on a wood floor with lots of people around.”
“Oh, honey, that’s a challenge if I’ve ever heard one.
” He grinned and led her to the edge of the floor.
He put one arm around her and held her hand close to his chest with the other one.
Her body fit against his better than anyone he had ever danced with before, and her steps matched his like they had danced with each other since they were kids.
The song ended, and Shania Twain began singing “Any Man of Mine.” He stood still and crossed his arms over his chest. Audrey teased him by dancing all around him.
Everyone backed up and gave the two of them the whole floor, clapping in time with the beat.
She swayed and dipped, put her hands on his cheeks, and blew him kisses until he was almost sweating from sheer heat that had absolutely nothing to do with the temperature of the bar.
When the song ended, she walked into Brodie’s arms and wrapped both arms around his neck, swaying to the soft Blake Shelton song “Who Are You When I’m Not Looking.”
“Want to answer that question?” he asked.
“It will take a lifetime, Brodie Callahan, for you to get those answers,” she whispered.
“I’m willin’ to get the answer one date at a time,” he said softly for her ears only.
Brodie didn’t even know when Bernie and Gladys left the bar, and all the people that filled up the dance floor were nothing but blurs. As far as he was concerned, he and Audrey were the only couple in the bar, and they didn’t even need anything more to drink.
“It’s getting close to midnight, and I really do have to work tomorrow,” she said.
“I don’t want the night to end,” he said as they finished the evening with “I Hope You Dance.”
“Me, either, but there will be other nights, right?” she said.
“Oh, yes, there will be,” he promised.
Bo waved from behind the bar when they started out the door. “Y’all be careful.”
“Will do,” Brodie replied. “See you in church on Sunday.”
Bo nodded and raised her glass of beer.
“This has been a perfect night,” Audrey said on the way back to Spanish Fort.
Brodie reached across the console and took her hand in his. He brought her knuckles to his lips and kissed each one. “Absolutely.”
He didn’t need words to fill the silence in the cab of the truck. The quietness was comfortable, which was something he’d never known with other women. When they reached her farm, he got out of the truck, helped her out, and walked her to the door.
She wrapped her arms around his neck, tangled her fingertips in his dark hair, and tiptoed. His lips closed on hers in a passionate kiss that ended a perfect night.
“Meet me in the orchard tomorrow night?” he whispered when the kiss ended.
The porch light flickered on and off several times. “Aunt Hettie is telling me that I’ve been out past curfew and to cut the good-night kisses short. She’s making up for never having daughters by treating me like I’m still sixteen.”
Brodie brushed one last kiss across her lips. “Good night, Audrey. See you tomorrow night.”
When he got home, he stood on the porch a full minute, but no one turned the porch light on and off several times. He chuckled as he made his way up the stairs to his bedroom. Raising girls, at any age, must involve more than bringing up boys.